§ 62-268. Bumpers.

(a)

No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any road, street or highway unless the vehicle is equipped with a bumper or other energy absorption system with an analogous function.

(b)

No person shall operate a passenger vehicle of a type required to be registered under the laws of this state upon a public highway or street which has been modified by alteration of its altitude from the ground if its bumpers measured to any point on a load-bearing member of the horizontal bumper bar, or not within a range of 14 inches to 22 inches above the ground; and no vehicle shall be modified to cause the vehicle body or chassis to come in contact with the ground or expose the fuel tank to damage from collision or cause the wheels to come in contact with the body under normal operation and no part of the original suspension system shall be disconnected to defeat the safe operation of the suspension system; provided, that nothing contained in this section shall prevent the installment of heavy duty equipment to include shock absorbers and overload springs; and, provided further, nothing contained in this section shall prevent a person from operating a motor vehicle upon a public highway with normal wear of the suspension system if normal wear does not affect control of the vehicle.

(c)

This section shall not apply to freight motor vehicles and/or other vehicles which have designs which would intrinsically preclude conformity with this section. This section shall also not apply to any vehicle which has an unaltered and undamaged stock bumper or energy absorption system as supplied by the manufacturer of the vehicle.

(Ord. No. O-90-9-112, § 8-13, 9-10-90)

State law reference

Similar provisions, T.C.A. § 55-9-215.